Matthew 1:18-24 (CEV)
The Birth of Jesus
18 This is how Jesus Christ was born. A young woman named Mary was engaged to Joseph from King David’s family. But before they were married, she learned that she was going to have a baby by God’s Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph was a good man and did not want to embarrass Mary in front of everyone. So he decided to quietly call off the wedding.
20 While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her. 21 Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 So the Lord’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, 23 “A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.”
24 After Joseph woke up, he and Mary were soon married, just as the Lord’s angel had told him to do.
What to do when your dreams go unfulfilled? When you long for something that never comes. And then it seems there is possibility and hope, your dreams burst into life again. You thought you were past hope, but it lives anew in you, lifts you, carries you on. And then it seems gone, more cruel for a second taking.
Can you hope again, believe, trust and walk on?
Can God truly be with us?
God of hope,
I bring to you
the things I long for,
the possibilities,
those that seem beyond reach,
the ones that feel dashed.
Where promise has wilted
and become despair,
where what might have been,
has become what will never be,
where hopes are smashed
and lie broken,
where nothing seems possible anymore.
I open myself up to you.
To your possibility,
your promise,
your hope.
May I dream again,
of all you can do,
and give you the chance
to dream in and through me.
Join us reading Walking Backwards to Christmas by Stephen Cottrell from SPCK Publishing this advent. Be part of #adventbookclub, share your thoughts here, on your own blog (and let us know we’ll link to it), on Twitter using #adventbookclub or on the Adventbookclub Facebook page
